hone in

verb

honed in; honing in; hones in

intransitive verb

: to move toward or focus attention on an objective

looking back for the ball honing in

—George Plimpton

a missile honing in on its target

—Bob Greene

hones in on the plights and victories of the common man

—Lisa Russell

Hone in vs. Home in: Usage Guide

Most usage commentators consider hone in to be a mistake for home in. The use may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the \m\ sound to \n\ or it may have developed simply because of the influence of hone, with perhaps an underlying sense that "honing" figuratively involves a narrowing or sharpening of focus. Whatever the explanation of its origins, it has established itself in American English and has begun to make a few inroads into British English as well. Even so, your use of it especially in writing is likely to be called a mistake. Home in or in figurative use zero in is an easy alternative.

Examples of hone in in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Looking to put some focus on the deluge of details arising throughout the previous two days of testimony, Qualcomm honed in on two areas: defining what is Arm IP versus what is Nuvia IP and the intent of the Nuvia and Qualcomm ALA licenses. —Jim McGregor, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

For example, Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese restaurant chain, has honed in on malls for its U.S. expansion, according to Alison Lin, Yelp’s head of restaurants. —Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 19 Dec. 2024

The project will hone in on the efforts of SEAL Team Six, Delta Force and the Mexican Marines, who painstakingly dismantled an international drug network that plagued communities across North America for decades. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024

In other words, if a team hones in on an almost obsessive drive to improve, the outcomes will take care of themselves. —Braidon Nourse, The Denver Post, 23 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of home in

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above